Britain’s asylum system has come under fierce scrutiny after two men wanted for gang rape in Denmark were granted refugee status and taxpayer-funded benefits despite an international police alert being issued before they entered the country.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp condemned the case as evidence that “Labour has lost control of our borders,” following revelations that Awedin Fikak and Henok Tekleab lived in Britain for up to 18 months at public expense before being extradited.
Both Eritrean nationals, aged 27, have now been returned to Denmark to face trial after Danish authorities issued an international warrant complete with photographs in September 2024. However, the Home Office failed to detect the alert when the men entered the asylum system following their Channel crossings the following month.
The case centres on a brutal attack in Aarhus, Denmark’s second-largest city, in August 2024. A 37-year-old woman reported being imprisoned in a flat and subjected to a six-hour gang rape by three men, who filmed the assault. She eventually managed to escape her attackers.
Danish police swiftly charged and convicted one 33-year-old Eritrean man, who received a three-year prison sentence and a deportation order with a permanent re-entry ban. However, investigators required additional time to identify two further suspects using CCTV footage from a convenience store near the crime scene.
By the time East Jutland police issued the international alert for Fikak and Tekleab, complete with their names and photographs, both men had already fled to northern France. Fikak crossed the Channel on 5 October 2024, arriving as one of 973 migrants making the journey that day, Westminster magistrates later heard.
According to court proceedings, Fikak secured refugee status within approximately six months and received accommodation and financial support. Tekleab similarly obtained asylum and benefits after his dinghy arrival.
When authorities finally arrested Fikak in Birmingham earlier this month, he attempted to block extradition by invoking his “human right to a family life,” citing his brother’s residence in London. District Judge Michael Snow approved the extradition, noting: “He entered illegally. He states that he was granted refugee status about one year ago. He lives in shared accommodation. He is unemployed and in receipt of benefits.”
Tekleab was arrested in December and extradited in February, whilst Fikak was flown to Copenhagen on Thursday.
A source familiar with the proceedings explained: “The Danish certainly had put a notice out – but the Home Office was not aware of it when Fikak and Tekleab entered the asylum system, and asylum support automatically followed.”
A Home Office spokesman stated: “Vile criminals have no place in the UK. Both individuals have been extradited to Denmark to face justice.”
